By
emphasizing the importance of the self in Ragged Dick and Struggling Upward,
Horatio Alger combines the classic capitalistic idea of the American Dream
and adds his own twist on it by emphasizing the importance of not just
ingenuity, but character as well in rising through the ranks on the social
ladder. For that purpose, Alger establishes the virtues of Dick's character in
the narrative. He makes these moments stand out by breaking the fourth wall:
"If some of my boy readers, who have been studying for years, and got no
farther than this, should think it incredible that Dick, in less than a year,
and studying evenings only, should have accomplished it, they must remember
that our hero was very much earnest in his desire to improve" (98). While
the use of the fourth wall serves to distinguish Dick's earnesty and hard work
from the other young boys in the novel, it also highlights the differences
between him and the readers. Ultimately the story of Ragged Dick serves as an
inspirational narrative of how a young boy can find success through hard work,
further emphasized through the relatability of Dick by stressing his modest
roots. Alger's fourth wall contradicts the intention of the novel, however,
because the narrative compares the "boy readers" with "our
hero" (98). Even the framing of the respective roles stresses a
fundamental difference in how each boy is perceived by the author, the
difference being a common, unclaimed "boy" contrasted with the use of
the possessive "our hero." The fourth wall, while added with the
intention of reminding the readers that success only comes to the hard workers,
only serves to alienate the readers who believe themselves to be capable of
success such as Ragged Dick.
Additionally,
the events in the narrative further create distance from the readers through
its reliance on not causality, ingenuity, and networking--the fundamental
tenets of the American Dream--but rather coincidence and good timing. Much of
the character interactions that end up helping Ragged Dick relies on the latter
two concepts instead of the former. For example, when Alger sets up the
situation in which Dick rescues the drowning boy, he narrates, "But about
this time something occurred which considerably improved his chances of
preferment" (126). The vagueness in his framing and the use of Dick as the
object of the sentence rather than the subject implies to the readers that this
situation occurred without Dick cultivating it himself. While showing this
scene accentuates the randomness of success and the importance of good timing,
Alger also subtracts the significance of good character and hard work in
finding success, since the situation ultimately occurred without Dick's
intervention. It was due to his good character that ended up saving the boy,
but there would have never been any chance to demonstrate such good character
in the first place without sheer luck.
Jessica, you bring up some excellent points about Ragged Dick which I had not considered myself. It’s clear that Dick’s honesty and good intentions are what make him so likeable; however, I did not pay much attention to Horatio Alger’s breaking of the fourth wall in my original reading and your explanation of the difference between “boy readers” and “our hero” was extremely thoughtful and enlightening. You also look further and point out Alger’s inconsistency in argument by delving into the area of coincidence, which is a valid point.
ReplyDeleteI agree that Dick’s story largely points to random meetings and lucky chances that help Dick to rise socially. Your post made me think of a book that I read last semester called Hit Makers that attempted to explain how ideas become popular and successful. Despite writing over 300 pages on the economics, psychology, and social networks that result in popularity, the author Derek Thompson still ended his book saying that “magic fairy dust” was the key ingredient to major success in addition to the steps he gives. Dick seemed to have this “magic fairy dust” in the opportunities presented to him by Frank Whitney, Henry Fosdick, and James Rockwell. I would argue, though, that coincidence doesn’t undermine the importance of being a respectable person nor should luck be considered as independent from hard work and honesty. Perhaps it proves that luck is on the side of good people and is further proof for the readers that good people are rewarded for their goodness in the end.
Great post!
Jessica, you bring up fantastic points about Ragged Dick, the most interesting being the author’s emphasis that the key to success is working hard and a bit of luck. It is worth acknowledging that Dick’s inherent honesty, integrity and courage may have caused him to be the person that was willing to save the drowning boy in the first place. You finished your post by stating “there would have never been any chance to demonstrate such good character in the first place without sheer luck.” Okay, maybe the occurrence with the drowning boy was completely random; however, with a character like Dick, how many more adventures strolling around New York City would it have taken to find another “random” opportunity to present his character? In this hypothetical opportunity, Dick may not have realized the same spoils of good character as when he rescued the drowning boy who happened to be the son of a wealthy patron. However, being a person with good character like Dick would seemingly have endless opportunities to show it and potentially climb the social ladder because of it. Therefore, I have to disagree that Horatio Alger’s emphasis on luck undermines his separate emphasis on hard work; in fact, I believe that Dick is lucky because he is hard working.
ReplyDelete